Overview

“A killer of a thriller with a wonderfully human, perfectly rendered heroine at its center….A terrific read.”—Dennis Lehane, author of Shutter Island and The Given Day

“First-rate crime fiction.”

—Washington Post (a Best Book of the Year)

The raves keep pouring in for #1 New York Times bestselling author Peter De Jong’s Shadows Still Remain. James Patterson calls it, “An absolute knockout and a half,” and praises De Jong’s fascinating, endearing, but seriously flawed heroine, NYPD Detective Darlene O’Hara, as, “One of the freshest, hippest detective creations in many a year.” Every fan of serious crime fiction will agree that this author is a major find.

Product Details

About the Author

Peter de Jonge is the author of Shadows Still Remain and coauthor of three books with James Patterson: Miracle on the 17th Green and the number one New York Times bestsellers Beach Road and The Beach House. He worked as a reporter at the Associated Press and has been a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and other publications. He lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

At the end of the novel, as all the pieces begin to fall into place, you realize how cleverlysome might say slicklyit has been plotted. But slick can be good, and this remains tough, skillful, sophisticated entertainment. When the crime-fiction aficionados set out to pick their best first novel of the year, Shadows Still Remain will be a contender.The Washington Post

Patrick Anderson

De Jonge, a James Patterson coauthor (Beach Road), delivers his first solo effort, a routine crime thriller set in New York City. NYPD Det. Darlene O'Hara, "beautiful and thirty-four, with wavy red hair and the kind of freckles men try to lick off shoulders," is looking for missing NYU student Francesca Pena, "a very pretty teenage girl with long jet-black hair and bottomless brown eyes," when she learns that Pena's brutally beaten body has been found in East River Park. While her professional colleagues soon focus on David McLain, Pena's hometown friend who initially reported her missing, O'Hara doubts McLain is guilty. As the evidence against McLain mounts, she persists in her search for the real killer, a quest that leads her to cross lines, risk her job and become a wanted person herself. Predictably, O'Hara's digging reveals Pena had a secret life. Few readers will be surprised that the detective manages to crack the case in the nick of time. (Apr.)

The first solo effort by James Patterson's coauthor (Beach Road) delivers enough twists and turns for any thriller reader. New York detective Darlene O'Hara shares her hard-drinking ways and renegade streak with many a fictional cop, but there are some things that set her apart. She has yet to make it to Homicide, so she's forced to investigate the murder of Francesca Pena, a 19-year-old NYU student, off the clock and under the radar. Once a teenage mother, O'Hara feels a connection to both Francesca, who survived a troubled childhood, and suspect David McClain, Pena's erstwhile beau. David reminds her too much of her own son for her to believe him capable of the rape, torture, and murder. Instead, she worries at each scrap of evidence until it leads her further. O'Hara comes to some disturbing conclusions, but even after she and her partner make their arrests some questions remain. De Jonge conveys enough texture that it isn't hard to imagine this on the big screen. Here's hoping that we see O'Hara again.Eric Norton

Library Journal

In his first solo effort, James Patterson co-author de Jonge (Beach Road, 2006, etc.) introduces NYPD Det. Darlene O'Hara, charged with solving a grisly murder that's getting scads of publicity. The Monday after Thanksgiving, the mutilated body of Francesca Pena is discovered in lower Manhattan. An autopsy reveals she was horribly tortured before her death, and the newspapers are all over this grim story. The victim was a golden girl from an unsavory, unpromising urban environment, a high-school track star who got a full ride to NYU and was being touted as a future Rhodes Scholar. The case falls to O'Hara, a no-nonsense woman who also surmounted a tough past. The 34-year-old detective has an 18-year-old son and a hard-earned GED; she's street smart, tenacious and psychologically shrewd. The main suspect is Pena's erstwhile boyfriend, David McLain, who still pined for her even after she dumped him. Patrick Lawry, a corpulent master detective with plenty of experience in homicide, is ready to haul in McLain and add another award to his stellar resume, but O'Hara's not so sure. It turns out Pena was not as golden as she led the world to believe. She worked for a seedy escort service and a strip club. She may have been the lover of NYU's assistant provost for admissions. Even her community service, tutoring the pubescent daughters of a now-clean crack addict, wasn't quite what it seemed. O'Hara has tracked down the design of a tattoo the killer carved into Pena's lower back, and one of the girls has the same tattoo; their mother is not forthcoming with a plausible explanation. While "all she has to generate new leads is her memory, a six-pack, [and] the rapidly diminishing effects of . . .two large coffees," O'Hara finds this is enough-although she gets in deep trouble with publicity hound Lawry. An abhorrent crime, a slimy perp and a noirish prose style-all good but all derivative.

“First-rate crime fiction. . . . The book is alive with the sounds and smells and sins of New York. . . . When the crime-fiction aficionados set out to pick their best first novel of the year, SHADOWS STILL REMAIN will be a contender.”

Washington Post

“SHADOWS has grit, color, suspense, and believable characters, and is delivered in a sharp and gratifyingly terse prose. . . . This guy is good.”

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

I like De Jonge's writing better than Patterson's or any of their collaborations. This novel was interesting, well-paced, and thoughtfully written. I hope he develops the character of OHara. I would like to see more of her in future novels. He does a good job of writing about a female character. Not too many authors can do that well. I like that he converts NYC into another character. The sense of place, and the contrast between the homes of the rich with the seedy bars and slums is very well featured. It reminds me of the novels of Dennis Lehane and Gabriel Cohen, where the location is as pertinent as the character and the plot. Good job, and I hope we will see more of his writing in the near future.

jaime

More than 1 year ago

Pick up the bargain book Shadows Still Remain by Peter De Jonge; you won't be sorry. This who done it is tautly woven with well worked out surprises up to the end. The plot is cleverly constructed. It's a page turner that keeps you wanting to know who and why. The ending is shocking. Very well written. I enjoyed the female protagonist. I'll look forward to more DeJonge novels written alone. Well worth the $3.99 bargain.

Yesh_Prabhu

More than 1 year ago

If the name Peter de Jonge sounds familiar to a reader, it's because it has appeared next to the mega best-selling author James Patterson's name, and credited as co-author of several best-sellers such as "Miracle on the 17th Green", "Beach Road" and "The Beach House". "Shadows Still Remain" is his first novel written without collaboration with Mr. James Patterson. It is an impressive debut.
After a night of heavy drinking, when Francesca Pena, a beautiful teenaged NYU student disappears, the case is assigned to Detective Darlene O'Hara. However, when Francesca's battered body is found in East River Park, the missing person case is suddenly transformed into a case of homicide, and the case is taken off Detective O'Hara's hands. Unwilling to let go of the case, O'Hara, a single mother and tenacious, continues her investigation privately and uncovers a hidden facet of Francesca's dark, secret life at an escort service and a strip club also.
The setting of the novel - the Lower East Side of New York, with is narrow, shadowy streets, tiny bars, tattoo parlors, boutiques, and small parks, create a bewitching and interesting back ground. The story is fast paced. And full of unexpected twists and turns, the plot becomes more complex.
With the second book featuring Detective O'Hara now in progress, Peter de Jonge has created a bright new crime fiction series. I found the book well-plotted, well-written, fast-paced, gripping and highly readable.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Fine debut. Will purchase next book.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

PAD OUT TO ALL YOUR LITTER BOXES

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Enjoyable to the very last plot twist

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Good read

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Well written, great characters. Also read and enjoyed Ave B. This is my new favorite series.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

SoapBoxinMyMind

More than 1 year ago

Shadows Still Remain, by Peter De Jonge is a fast paced story about a female detective, Darlene O'Hara who is trying to make it into the Homicide Division. She catches a case involving a missing NYU student, and quickly learns that the girl is not really missing, but dead.
As O'Hara and her partner follow the clues, they also bump heads with the lead investigator on the case, Lowry. Because of their dislike for each other, O'Hara keeps information from Lowry and gets herself into all kinds of messy situations. All the while, an interesting and shocking case unfolds before O'Hara and she finds herself examining parts of her own past.
This book was fast paced and easy to read, for the most part. It was written in the present tense which made it a little less enjoyable for me. I found myself re-reading several sentences because the tense didn't seem to fit the flow of the story.
The character development was done really well for most of the characters, and the conclusion of the case is surprising. However, the ending of the story left a bit to be desired. After solving the murder case, O'Hara found herself obsessed with who the victim was before she was killed, but never learns the answers she wanted. Even though the lesson was that she won't always get all of the answers, I still felt like I was left hanging...just a little.
On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3. I liked the main characters, the storyline, and the pace. I would have preferred it to have been written in past tense, and I would have liked to have learned the answers to the questions O'Hara was trying to find.
This book was published by HarperCollins.
ISBN: 978-0-06-137354-1